Just Who I Am
by Winterbolt
Summary: After having his plans foiled yet again by the brothers Kratt, Zach reminisces on why he is who he is today, and wonders if all of it is really worth it. One-Shot.


**Just a quick author's note: I had to write this one-shot featuring Zach since he's my favorite villain. Plus I got this idea and couldn't shake it until I wrote it out, so please enjoy!**

* * *

It had been a long, tiring day- and a certain inventor wanted to do nothing more than rest.

But he just couldn't.

Zach sat stiffly in his chair in his tall skyscraper of a home in the city, tapping his thin fingers against the armrest, unable to calm his nervous energy. He'd only been home for a few hours, and even though no noisy kids were disrupting him for once, he just couldn't settle down enough to relax. A barely repressed grumble of frustration came from his throat as he listened to his Zach bots slowly moving back and forth across the floor, tending to chores that he'd be better off doing himself.

"Hey!" The man snapped as their gentle humming continued to grate on his nerves, craning his neck so he could see them better, "All of you, outside on the double! Go- go clean my windows or something."

He sighed and sank down in the sleek chair a bit before his fingers clenched tightly around the chair's armrests, "And I don't care if there are any dumb birds in the way." Zach continued with a spiteful hiss, "Wipe them and their nest right off the building if you have to, I don't care what those Wild Rats say!" He was referring to a time when he had a horrible run in with Chris and Martin Kratt, who had no choice but to destroy his Zach bots to keep them from destroying a Peregrine Falcon nest resting just on the edge of Zach's building. Fortunately that had been months ago, and by now the chick and the adult falcons had long since moved on.

Though the Zach bots had moved outside to get to work on the windows- leaving Zach alone in the spacious room- he still couldn't find it in him to relax. His mind was racing. All he could think about were those tree-hugging, aggravating, know-it-all-

_Wild Rats._

The man finally jumped up from the chair, snatching up the newspaper from the coffee table en-route as he began to pace the floor. With his footsteps echoing dully through the room with each step, he opened the paper with a sharp snap, folding it back so he could scan the front page.

And there they were, sneering back at him like they were the most important people in the world. Obviously the brothers had been caught by the press after their last excursion into the wild. Zach bit his lip for a moment before he began to read the heading on the article aloud with the most spiteful voice he could manage, "Creature adventurers Chris and Martin Kratt once again become the heroes for animals everywhere after successfully tagging a group of rare Tasmanian Devils. When asked for comments, the younger of the pair Chris Kratt exclaimed, 'We're happy to do it! It's our job- we help out animals, no matter what! As much as they matter to us and the world, we'll do whatever we can to give back and help them out.'"

The kind words felt like acid in his mouth. Those devils were HIS! He had captured them fair and square, and Chris and Martin ruined everything. They always ruined everything, and every time Zach lost, they were praised for it. It wasn't fair.

Life never was fair to Zachary Varmitech. It never really had been. Most of his supposed hardships the inventor brought upon himself, constantly consumed by self-righteous hatred and jealousy. But...sometimes, it felt like the dice were loaded in favor of the Wild Kratts crew.

Gritting his teeth angrily, Zach turned sharply on his foot to slam the newspaper back down onto the table- but what with all of his pacing and griping, he hadn't realized how close to the table he had gotten. Before he could stop himself, Zach continued to turn and hit the table hard, the glass edge jutting right into his side, causing him to cry out an exclamation of pain.

"OW!" Zach barked as the table upturned on two legs, teetering for a moment before falling back to the tile floor with a ringing clatter. He hissed under his breath, reaching down to rub his side gingerly as he threw the newspaper into his chair, "Argh! Stupid, _stupid..."_ And as if it couldn't get any worse, apparently a Zach bot came by during his rant and set his coffee cup down on the table.

Now it was shattered on the floor, the still steaming brew running around the table legs and his shoes.

Just perfect.

The pale man balled his fists tightly, holding his breath for a second to suppress a scream, but when he saw Chris and Martin watching him from the paper again, he couldn't help it. He nearly roared as he snatched the paper back up, his hands trembling with rage as he shredded the paper as quickly as he could, tearing right through their faces. "How do YOU like it, huh!?" He taunted the pictures as he continued to rip the article apart in multiple places, before balling up the pieces in his fingers and tossing them unceremoniously to the ground.

"You dumb RATS don't deserve all the fame you have! I'M the great inventor, _me!"_ Zach beat his hand on his chest for emphasis as he raged, stomping through the puddle of coffee on his way to his chair, his aching side still throbbing. "People should be lining up for interviews, begging me to show them my newest inventions! But nooooo- they'd rather kiss the boots of those good for nothing RATS!"

With that, Zach collapsed into the chair, leaning back a little as he lifted his fingers to rub his temples. The room rang with the residual echo from his yelling, and his den was practically a mess from all the shattered glass, spilt coffee, and shredded paper. Zach felt that if he saw Chris and Martin ever again, it would be too soon.

But there was one thing that got his dander up more above anything else.

Even after capturing endangered animals, trapping them in robots...instead of turning him in to the police like any other self respecting person would...

After freeing the animals, the Kratt brothers would always let him go.

Somehow, that infuriated Zach even more than any other thing Chris or Martin had ever done to him. It made him uncomfortable, and he hated it. He had tried to KILL them in the past for goodness sake, multiple times over. Either they were dumber than he gave them credit for, or they were too nice for their own good. It was like they were treating him like a child. Silently scolding him for the things he did instead of really letting him get hammered for it.

Like they didn't perceive him as a threat. Like they didn't take him seriously.

As this realization slowly sank in, Zach lowered his hands from the sides of his head with a heavy sigh, glancing back over at the table. He hadn't noticed his knocking into the table had knocked over...something else. Something he hadn't noticed before.

Still stiff with anger, he reached over and picked it up, turning it over once in his hands before getting a good look at what it was, stalling mid-breath. It was a picture frame. Jet black like just about everything else he owned, and pretty old and untouched too, if the thin layer of dust on the glass was any proof of that. What really made him stop for a second though, was the picture inside. The fact the frame actually had a picture was surprising in itself.

The picture was of him.

Not recent by any means, but Zachary Varmitech was looking at a reflection of himself from years ago, sven though he could still see his present self's reflection in the dusty glass. In the picture, he saw a six year old Zach, sitting in the grass outside tinkering with a pile of nuts, bolts, and various jumbled parts and pieces. And...not only did he look like he was enjoying himself-

The child in the photo was practically beaming with joy.

Zach's previous scowl dissolved into a muted frown as he sat up a bit straighter, brushing away a bit of the dust with his thumb. It felt like he had had this photo sitting in his house for years, and only just now had he noticed its presence. Now that it was in his hands he couldn't tear his gaze away from it. He had never even remembered being that happy in his entire life, and it made it seem like this was a totally different child from himself.

It felt like centuries ago now.

* * *

"You just gotta stay nice and still, ok Chris? Don't make any loud noises or sudden movements..."

The five year old solemnly nodded as he looked up at his nine year old brother, who was sitting on his knees in the grass with a small handful of birdseed. They were sitting in the backyard one cool summer afternoon, and of course it was so nice outside there was no way they could pass up being out in nature. Martin was taking this opportunity to show his brother something very special.

Both boys had always been fascinated with animals, and had been taught that with caution and care, they would sometimes have the chance to see the creatures of their wildest imaginations first hand. Of course, that was as long as they didn't harm the animals in any way, or disrupt them, but they knew better than that.

Carefully, Martin scattered some of the seeds a few feet in front of them, drawing a finger to his lips for silence. Then he pointed a little as, almost immediately, a sparrow hopped down from a nearby tree onto the ground, hopping over to the seeds before plucking them up to get its fill. Chris gasped softly with wonder, hanging onto Martin's arm a little as, one by one, more fat little sparrows appeared to eat the seeds that Martin had offered. Chris had seen birds on the bird feeder from the window tons of times, but never had he seen them this close.

"Ok Chris, now watch.." Martin whispered, his hand still half full of seeds as he laid it on the ground, holding his palm out flat. Surprised, Chris watched as nothing happened for quite some time, even though they kept perfectly still. Then, out of nowhere, one of the many sparrows that had gathered suddenly flew a little into the air and landed just shy of Martin's fingers.

The younger brother couldn't help but gasp and draw back a little, startled by the little bird's sudden appearance. But Martin mumured in a gentle voice, causing Chris to turn his attention back to his hand, "Don't worry Chris, it's ok. See? He just wants a few seeds to eat- and as long as I stay really still..." Chris was amazed as the sparrow hopped right up onto Martin's head, turning its head this way and that curiously, "it will eat right out of my hand."

"H...how...?" Chris began, but Martin simply chuckled as more of the birds became braver and hopped a bit closer.

"I've been doing this for quite a while now. These little sparrows trust that I won't hurt them, and I trust that they won't hurt me. We help each other. That's how people are supposed to treat animals, you see?" He explained as a second bird tried to fit itself into Martin's hand as well.

Then Martin carefully shifted a little, Chris letting go of Martin's arm so he could get a second handfull of seeds. "Do you wanna try Chris?"

Shyly, but with an expression lit up with excitement, Chris nodded and held out his hand so Martin could pour the seeds into his palm, copying his movement and laying his hand on the ground next to him. Though the excessive movement caused the little birds to hop back a bit, it wasn't long before more hungry little fellows got curious and flew down. They slowly hopped over to Martin's hand first- for it was closer- before giving Chris a chance.

As the first sparrow nestled right into his hand to feast, Chris felt a chill of happiness rush through his body. Martin observed fondly as Chris struggled to stay still, whispering in a voice trembling with eagerness, "L-look Martin! Look! He's in my hand!"

Martin nodded slowly as they both turned back to their respective cluster of birds, the small back-yard practically alive with activity.

This is the scene Zach watched unfold from his bedroom window, his arms folded on the window sill. He dropped his chin onto his arms with a heavy sigh, shifting a bit uncomfortably where he sat. He had always found it weird how obsessed those beothers were with animals. Very weird. Not sure how ELSE to respond to that, the young boy had always felt compelled to tease the brothers for this at any chance he got. For the moment, it always made him feel good. But then, coming home...he would just feel weird about it.

Empty somehow.

Seven year old Zachary Varmitech didn't have many friends. Well...he didn't really have any friends. He wasn't very easy to get along with, so while other kids were outside playing with friends or siblings he would be in his room, playing with his robots. Designing his own, trying to figure out ways to make them himself. To make them move on their own.

Daddy wasn't always around, and Mama didn't know how to help- or rather perhaps she was too busy to. No time for your silly toys right now Zachy. Zach's brow furrowed as he sighed again through his nose, silently watching those silly brothers wasting their time feeding birds. Mama and Daddy yelled at each other half the time when they were together anyway, so Zach figured he could do without their help.

As he sat there, he began to notice just how many birds Chris and Martin had drawn over to their yard. Just doing a quick headcount Zach could see there were several dozen out there already, and the number was climbing. So many birds in one place it was surprising. It was almost impressive.

Zach's eye caught on one of his toys sitting near the seat next to the window, so he reached out and picked it up. Using a thumb to brush a small bit of dust off its smooth plastic face, he could see his reflection looking back at him in it. That's when he was struck with a sudden idea that caused a grin to break across his face.

He turned and looked back outside, clutching the toy close to his chest. Then with his grin growing, he jumped down to the floor and ran out of his room, skidding on his socks in the hallway as he charged down the stairs. Zach winced but ignored his mother's questioning yell as he continued to make his way, grabbing his bag from the floor before rushing outside, leaving the door slightly ajar in his haste.

Panting with exertion, Zach fell to his knees and upturned his bag, letting all of its contents spill out. Little tools, parts, and electronic pieces made up the majority of the pile, but the rest seemed to be simply a random assortment of items Zach had collected here and there. Looking up without moving his head, he could see birds roosting in his very own backyard tree, watching him carefully.

Then, the young inventor got to work.

He toiled with the parts and pieces for at least a half hour, and judging by the soft voices floating over to him over the fence, he could tell Chris and Martin were still outside feeding the birds. Ignoring them for the moment, Zach hefted his finished creation in his arms, lugging it over to the base of the tree. It was exactly what it looked like.

A cage.

A bit of a crude one, but it was remarkably efficient for being made by someone so young. It had tight netted littlee pieces of wire forming the edge of the cage, tight and close enough to keep something in. At the front there was a little door complete with a perch that mimiced the birdhouse he had seen in the Kratt brother's yard. Leading from the door was a small but long string, which he dragged out a good length from the tree.

It was a trap, plain and simple.

Finally, Zach ran to the edge of the fence, peeking through a hole in it with the end of the string still in his fist. He frowned a little as he watched those brothers laugh softly as the birds tickled their fingers with their feet. It wasn't as if they ever invited him over to play. S-sure they...didn't get along most of the time and weren't really friends but...that didn't mean he didn't want someone to play with. Chris had Martin; Martin had Chris. It wasn't fair.

Maybe his idea, however, would change that? Sure they didn't seem so crazy about robotics. He got that.

But they DID love animals.

With a small smile Zach scooped up a bit of extra seeds Martin had spilled through the hole in the fence, before rushing back to the cage and setting the seeds in a little pile on the ground in the center.

As he settled down a few feet away, he remembered what Martin said.

Be still. Be quiet. No sudden movements.

Easy enough.

Another half hour passed before a young sparrow took notice of the treasure of seeds in the cage. Hungry, it flew down and landed just next to the cage, causing Zach to hold his breath. He lay on his chest now in the grass as he watched the bird cautiously get closer and closer, even pecking the cage a bit to test what it would do. Nothing.

Pleased, the sparrow finally hopped right into the cage through the little door, beginning to peck at the pile of seeds Zach left. Then, without a second thought, he jerked the cage door shut.

The rattle of metal was shockingly loud, so startling that all of the birds flew up into the air in a flurry of beating wings, causing a very surprised Chris and Martin to jerk back, both of them nearly falling over. Then, the birds were gone.

"W...what was that...?" Chris wondered as he sat back up, tossing the rest of the seeds in his palm to the ground. Martin seemed concerned, looking around as he stood up from the ground, brushing grass from his pants.

"Dunno Chris. Whatever it was though, it scared the birds off. And..." he paused when he heard a peal of laughter come from the adjacent backyard. Martin helped Chris stand as he ground out in an undertone,

"Zach."

"Haha, I did it! I caught it!" Zach cheered as he jumped to his feet, stepping over to where he left the cage. The poor sparrow was in a panic, fluttering around in the cage, hitting against the walls as it desperately tried to find a way out. Grinning broadly, the boy reached down to pick the cage up when he was stopped by a voice not far away.

"What are you doing?" It was Chris, who was standing just next to his brother, his eyes wide with confusion. "Y...that sparrow is trapped in a cage!"

Zach laughed and nodded, causing them both to frown, "Of course! That's the point!" Neither Martin or Chris seemed too impressed, but Zach was too excited to notice. Still grinning, he picked up a wrench and pointed to the cage with it, "I was watchin' you guys and I had a new idea for a robot!" He explained as the brothers advanced, "I can use animals t'help power them! The animals could even be the robots themselves! Isn't that cool?"

He was breathless with excitement as he watched them, waiting for a response. Zach paused as their frowns never turned to smiles- infact Martin was still advancing on him, his expression not at all happy. He was angry.

"Zach, this is _wrong!"_ Martin cried, pointing at him, causing Zach to shy back a little. "Y..you can't keep wild animals trapped like this! And using them as robots?" Zach opened his mouth to speak, but his mouth was feeling uncomfortably dry. His great idea wasn't turning out like he'd hoped.

It was Chris's turn to speak, who seemed horrified by this, "You scared the birds away! And-" He frowned hard, shaking his head a little as he accused, "You were gonna hurt that poor sparrow!"

Zach felt his heart drop, not even noticing as he dropped his wrench. They didn't like this at all. They seemed to hate this idea, actually.

That hurt for some reason.

Quickly Zach went to defend himself, frowning with all of his former happiness gone, "I...No..I wasn't gonna hur- ...hey! Hey STOP!"

He was cut off as he saw Martin suddenly march over and pick up the cage, opening it up in one quick movement. In an instant the little bird was gone without a trace, but before Martin could put the cage down Zach was upon him, screaming, "No! No what are you doing!?"

Martin frowned even harder, hating the feel of the cold steel in his hands. The look on Zach's face seemed desperate- but determined. Meaning he hadn't intended to let the sparrow go. He really was going to try to turn it into a robot.

"Making sure you don't hurt animals again, Zach." And with that, Martin hefted the cage over his head and smashed it against the tree trunk.

The next few minutes were chaos. As soon as Zach had seen his creation destroyed he snapped, and without thinking he had jumped on Martin, trying to throw punches at every inch of the older boy he could reach. It might as well have been two to one, considering how big Martin was in comparison.

After Chris ran for help, he and Martin's parents managed to pull the boys apart, earning Zach a stern scolding by his mother as soon as she made it outside. Zach didn't care. All he could think to do was scream his head off at both Chris and Martin, who were watching him silently from behind their parents' legs.

He hiccuped as he cried, tears rolling down his cheeks as he struggled to get the words out, his entire little body trembling,

"I **_HATE_** YOU! I HATE YOU BOTH YOU _RATS!_ I HATE YOU A-AND I HATE DUMB ANIMALS! Y-YOU'RE _ALL_ STUPID AND I HATE YOU!"

* * *

Zach felt something give inside, and without warning he threw the picture frame away from him as hard as he could, ending up on his feet by the time the frame shattered loudly against the wall.

He stood stiffly for a moment, breathing heavily as he glared at the shattered frame, the picture still visible through the broken glass.

Then he slowly turned on his heel, lifting a hand to press it to his eyes. With a shaky breath his shoulders dropped before he moved his hand back down, pulling his legs close together. Ignoring the burn in his eyes he growled as he passed the chair and headed for his office, Zach bots coming back inside from cleaning.

"Clean up this mess." he said, not giving them a second glance. He jerkily wiped his eyes on his sleeve before raising his voice further, ordering in a loud, firm voice, "And I want you to _BURN_ that picture."

Then, Zach hesitated at the door for a moment before stepping out, his fists balling at his sides.

"I have work to do." he whispered.


End file.
